Looking at new horizons: advice requested!

As the title vaguely states, i am new here (and also to keyboards, synthesis etc) and i plan on moving into this area of musicXD. the only keyboards i have are an old casio keyboard and also a korg stage piano(not including the piano downstairs). what i would like to do is actually start building a keyboard rig/setup from scratch. i have been the keyboardist for a small band for a while, and experience playing the piano.

what a few of my well informed, but rarely visiting, friends have been advising me to do is first of all find a sound module for a rack and also buy a master keyboard/MIDI controller whatsit...from there, i am lost. scouring the internet for 'rack modules' has proved to be quite fruitless, but i have uncovered a great deal of info!

at the moment, i play mainly rock-oriented songs with the band, and organs seem to be among my favourite instruments. what i desperately want to try is synthesis and prog-metal things, along the lines of Dream Theater. does anyone have any idea of what may be interesting to look at?

just yesterday actually, i had the opportunity to experiment with a yamaha motif XS, and i was fascinated. i have also been amazed by the world of analog synthesis, thanks to my old music teacher at my school (he has passed away now, quite recently). he just so happened to own a Moog Rogue, which was so easy to fall for. that is the 3 ways that i am stuck between now...going after modules and MIDI, diving into analog synthesis, or settling with a synthesis workstation-esque beast.

so, does anyone think they can help a foolish youth, most suited to sitting in front of a piano, with nothing electric but a lamp nearby? thank you a thousand times over in advance to anyone who has wasted time reading my ramblings!

thanks again!
Xiad

P.S: money does not seem to be an issue at the moment, seeing as i am still building funds. i am willing to save a great deal and second-hand equipment never bothers me

welcome to the keyboardforums Xiad! Yamaha, Korg and Roland are all very good brands, and when you say organ I immediately go to Hammond, of course there are som many good sample machines out there you can get good quality in most 3-4K$ synthesizers and have it all in one. Personally I use a main piano type synth and a hammond digi organ. Going from acoustic piano and a lamp to main stream electronic synthesis is going to be alot of fun for you. Its really all about personal preference and what you like. The Yammy XSMotif88 is a great synth. imo. I play in a classic rock/blues band check out our www.myspace.com/crossfirerock

I think that if you're into Dream Theater, and want to play those kind of things, you might want to try the Korg M3. It is like the little brother of Korgs' flagship Korg OASYS, which happens to be the keyboard that Jordan Rudess uses.

I don't know that much about organs, though. I'll hand that over to someone else ^^

thank you both for replying, RotorOnTop and Sargas! also, thanks for the welcome! already, this seems like a very friendly forumXD.

I aim to try and explore as much of a variety of equipment as possible, so your advice will come in very useful! i have been wondering about Roland and Korg so i started looking into the M3 and the Fantom X(i think it was). are these 2 keyboards on the same kind of general level of performance as the motif XS perhaps?

one thing that has made my mind split(as said earlier) into two directions is how standalone units compare to seperate modules, primarily concerning the ease of funtionality in performance etc. what does everyone think about the two options that there seems to be?

a Hammond emulator has been an interest of mine for a little while, but i have never had a chance to play anything close besides the great samples on that Motif XS i played recently...what i really need to do is find a large pro audio store and just play everything for hours. no one may have any information on this according to locations, because of the fact that i live in the UK. if anyone knows any major music stores within or near london, then i would love to hear about them! also, could anyone reccomend specific pieces of equipment to try out if i ever get a chance? i am mainly oriented, at the moment at least, to the performance side of things, and i am yet to expand on editing samples(although, i can now almost competently work an analog synth!) or making my own music.

yet again, my thanks goes out to all! if anyone needs any information on my one field of expertise, the piano, then feel free to ask things! i will do my best to answer anything!

One of the things to consider with an organ emulator is to get one with a good action. I don't know how much you know about them but hammonds have a distinctive action that allows for very quick trilling and, more importantly, slides! Too light and plasticy, and the keys rattle. Too heavy and you are in danger of damaging yourself (I have a variety of cuts on the back of my hands from sliding on unsuitable keyboards.)

what i really need to do is find a large pro audio store and just play everything for hours. no one may have any information on this according to locations, because of the fact that i live in the UK. if anyone knows any major music stores within or near london, then i would love to hear about them!

You're in London! You couldn't be better placed! Wandering 100yds down Charing Cross Road will have you tripping over them. I would recommend Turnkey. They have a very wide selection of gear and have no problems with you spending an afternoon playing everything (they've never thrown me out yet). You might also try Reverb (formerly Sound Control) underneath Zavvi on Tottenham Court Road, but you may find yourself competing with guitarists in terms of volume.